


Precious

by shockandlock



Series: Flames to Candles: MarcoAce Week 2015 [4]
Category: One Piece
Genre: AU, Family, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-24
Updated: 2015-06-24
Packaged: 2018-04-05 06:32:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4169523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shockandlock/pseuds/shockandlock
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Marco and Ace finally have a private night for just the two of them, but it bothers Marco how Ace is tapping his hand and looking at the clock over and over. For MarcoAce Week Day 4: AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Precious

**Author's Note:**

> I know a lot of people don't really go for this theme with these two, but I think it's adorable and I'm proud of what I wrote.

Ace tapped the table impatiently and glanced at the fancy wall clock once again. When was their food going to get to their table? This wait was almost longer than forever. It's not like they  _didn't_  have things to do afterwards too! Of course, he had to eat the food too, and that would take a while because of his large appetite (at least he wasn't a blackhole like Luffy though). Damn it! He should've ordered less tonight. That way, the chefs would have less to cook and Marco and Ace wouldn't have had to wait as long. Then they could've gone straight home, and-

"You're doing it again, yoi," Marco commented, reaching out towards Ace's tapping hand and stopping his impatient action.

"Doing what? I'm not doing anything, Marco," Ace denied.

But Marco wasn't buying it. He shook his head. "I know you, yoi. You do that with your hand when you're nervous and impatient."

To be completely truthful, Ace had never really noticed it himself. Marco knew him in that way, which made sense since they were married.

"So what is it?" Marco asked. "You can tell me."

Ace was silent for a moment. "I'm worried about Ann," he finally admitted.

"Really? That's it?" Marco's words weren't dismissing his worry though. He squeezed Ace's hand comfortingly. "Ace, I know you're still worried about being a parent, but you're doing great, yoi."

Marco was partially right. Those words brought Ace back to the time when they first adopted their baby girl, which was about four years ago now. He had been nervous at first because of his upbringing and parentage. He thought he was going to screw everything up and be a terrible parent, but as time passed, things proved differently.

* * *

_Ace leaned over the crib, silently panicking. What was he going to do? He didn't know the first thing about taking care of babies, and Marco was at work. There was no way that he could just let Ann keep crying like this! He reached out and carefully cradled her like Marco had shown him. She was so tiny in his arms, and Ace felt warmth pulse through is heart. He gently started to rock her back and forth. "Shhh," he whispered. "Don't cry."_

_Much to his relief the loud bawling eventually died down to quiet sniffles. He smiled to himself, feeling proud that he was able to take care of Ann,_ _**his daughter.** _ _"There, there," he continued. "It's alright."_

_And then he saw it. Ann's eyes shining up at him accompanying a wide smile. In that moment, she became the only thing in Ace's eyes. "Hey there," he breathed._

_She yawned in response, causing Ace to giggle. He walked over to the couch, still holding Ann, and in a soft voice he began to sing her a lullaby…_

* * *

 

__When Marco came home, he wasn't expecting the sight in front of him, but it definitely warmed his heart. There his husband sat: holding Ann in his arms. They were both sleeping peacefully, which made things even more adorable. Marco walked over and brushed Ace's hair back, pressing a soft kiss against his forehead. "I'm home, yoi," he chuckled quietly._ _

 

* * *

 

"You always let her braid your hair, and help her with tea parties when she asks, so trust me. You're a great parent, yoi," Marco continued.

"O-oi! Don't say embarrassing things like that," Ace protested, face red, but those  _were_  some great memories. Ann had been so happy when he did those things for her (of course, Marco helped too). Then again, that wasn't the problem here. "I'm not worried about that, Marco," he admitted.

Marco raised an eyebrow. "You're not? Then-"

"I am still worried though," Ace said, "because you know how the others get sometimes."

He could've sworn that Marco paled for a second, but it was covered up with another reassuring smile. "Well, why don't we call them while we're waiting, yoi?"

Ace nodded in agreement. That seemed like the best way to calm his anxieties. He slipped his phone out of his pocket and dialed the home number of Whitebeard's house.

" _Yo, Ace!"_ Thatch greeted.

"Hey, Thatch," he said. "How's Ann?"

" _Really? You're asking that? She's fine! Wanna talk to her?"_

"Yeah," Ace answered.

There were a few seconds of rustling before someone spoke again.  _"Hi, daddy!"_ Ann exclaimed.

A smile came to Ace's lips. "Hi, Ann. How're things going over there?" he asked.

" _Well,"_ she started,  _"I helped Uncle Thatch cook dinner, and then Auntie Izo did my hair! I also made Grandpa's mustache pretty!"_ Ace couldn't help but laugh at the thought of that sight. " _I'm playing with Auntie Haruta now!"_ Ann cheered excitedly.

"That's good then!" Ace commented. He really had nothing to worry about. Now he could just enjoy his evening with Marco. "I'm glad you're having fun. Do you want to talk to Papa?"

" _Uh-huh!"_

Ace pulled the phone away and held it out to Marco. "Here," he offered. "She wants to talk to you."

Marco smiled when he pressed the phone to his ear. "Hey. How's our little princess?" he asked, ignoring Ace's laugh at their daughter's nickname. He nodded for a few seconds, intently listening to Ann's experience. "We'll see you in around an hour or so, yoi," he finished. The call ended soon after, but Ace thought he saw fear in Marco's eyes briefly.

"Is something wrong?" Ace questioned.

"It's nothing," Marco responded hastily. "Let's enjoy our dinner, shall we?"

* * *

Ace noticed Marco's nervous habits too, even if the other didn't think so. He always tensed, and it was more obvious when he was holding his utensils like at dinner, or griping the steering wheel like now. It bothered Ace that Marco wasn't telling him what was wrong, especially since he seemed just fine before they ate.

"Seriously, Marco," Ace said as they pulled up to a red light. "Did something happen over the call?"

Marco's face paled again and Ace knew he was right. His anxiety came rushing back. "Is Ann alright?"

"I don't know, yoi," Marco answered hesitantly. "All I heard was a crash before they hung up."

That just made Ace feel even worse. "Why didn't you tell me?!" he exclaimed. He thought everything was fine, but now…

"I didn't want to worry you," Marco explained. He bit his lip. "I'm sorry, yoi."

"Don't apologize!" Ace quickly interjected. "I don't want you to feel guilty, and besides, I had fun tonight. Let's just focus on getting to the house, okay?"

Thankfully, it turned out that they didn't have much to worry about.

Ann came at them skipping with the biggest smile on her face. Her hair bounced along with her in a beautiful braid: no doubt Izo's work. "Papa! Daddy!" she squealed excitedly. Ace bent down to catch her in a hug, Marco following soon after. "Did you have fun?"

"Of course we did, yoi," Marco chuckled and kissed her forehead. "How was your time with your aunties, uncles, and grandpa?"

"Everyone played with me! It was really, really fun!" She described happily.

"It sure was, honey!" someone called. Izo popped out from around the corner looking rather exhausted. "Hello, you two. I presume your date went well?"

"Yep!" Ace answered, though he was curious about what Marco told him. "By the way, Marco told me there was a crash earlier on the call?"

Izo waved it off. "I wouldn't worry about that," he said. "Stefan just knocked a vase over. We'll have to replace it, but Ann thought it was funny."

"That's good," Ace sighed in relief. "As long as she's having fun."

"Daddy, look!" Ann chirped, waving something in his face. "Papa too! Auntie Haruta helped me draw a picture!" She beamed up at them, showing off the picture proudly. It was very colorful, as if she used every crayon in the box to draw all of their family members. They were all notable in some way, but Pops' exaggerated mustache was definitely something that got a laugh out of them.

The best part of the picture was the center: Marco, Ace, and Ann all close together with happy smiles.

"Whaddya think?" she asked expectantly, rocking back and forth on her heels.

"It's amazing, yoi," Marco answered proudly, ruffling her hair.

"Yeah!" Ace agreed. "We'll make sure to pin it on the fridge later, okay?"

"Okay, daddy!"

"Ahem!" Izo coughed trying to get their attention. "Anyways, why don't you just say hello to everyone and you can be on your way. Ann has to go to bed soon after all."

"Auntie Izo!" Ann whined. "I'm  _not_ sleepy!"

"How about this?" Ace suggested. "If we go home soon, you can sleep with me and Papa tonight." He glanced over at Marco, who nodded in approval.

Ann's eyes shined impossibly brighter. "Really? Yay!"

As Marco and Ace looked at their precious daughter and held her close, they couldn't help thinking about how good life was for them. They were content.

 


End file.
